Meet Tetiana Kalivoshko

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tetiana Kalivoshko and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tetiana, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
When I was growing up in Ukraine, I always felt the fire within me wanted to come out. Lviv National Academy of Art was one of the best University for Art in Ukraine and I felt that to study there will help me find the way to express myself and will be an important steppingstone for a life of creation. I had quite a few avenues of training and inspiration. When I was in high-school, I used to take a 5-hour train ride to Lviv every Thursday night to study art all weekend with Igor Chomsky who was my first art teacher. Igor took me under his wing and taught me the basics of art. I remember that the first question he asked me when we met was to show him my sketch book. I didn’t have one and he later told me that it was much easier to teach someone who didn’t do art before than to start changing the way someone create.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
If I were to talk about the last few years of my career, here’s what happened. When Russia invaded Ukraine, I was in the midst of creating one of my collections – the feminine collection. The news caused me so much sadness and stress that I couldn’t create for many months. My feelings shifted when I started looking for the positive in this horrific situation in Ukraine. I will share a personal story that, in retrospect, shows my point of view as a person and as an artist. When I was very young, my grandmother used to take me to the forest near her village in Ukraine to collect berries. After a few minutes of walking into the forest, she showed me places where soldiers during World War II had hidden their tanks and waited in anticipation for the next horrific battle. In that place of painful memories for my grandmother, all I saw was the beauty of the forest and the flowers. Because, as I said, my personal attention and my “art attention” always draw me to the positive. So, I created a Spring War collection, where you can see war weapons twisted together with flowers. Its meaning is hope after war and the idea that time heals the scars of conflict. In all my artistic and personal life, I always try to see positive or recovering moments. That mindset keeps me creating. I have so many ideas and stories in my head, but they all end on a positive note.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I find solace in visiting museums and galleries, with The Broad Museum in Los Angeles being a personal favorite. Its halls invite me to lose myself in contemplation and discovery. A day spent wandering there not only recharges my creative energy but also fills me with joy and a continuous stream of newfound knowledge. However, I’m constantly exploring, and what may be my favorite place one day could be replaced by another the next. We all evolve daily, and embracing different ideas, places, and people is not only acceptable but necessary. What truly matters is remaining true to our emotions and never betraying our feelings.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I can’t imagine a more supportive, loving, and caring group of people than my family. They have always allowed me to be true to myself, supporting all my adventures, decisions, and actions, which have shaped who I am today. Even when they don’t fully understand my artistic career, they always set an amazing example of being real and enjoying every moment of life. As a parent now, I want to give my son the same sense of authenticity and joy. Life taught me that in during difficult times, one must be able to rely on oneself. This belief is what keeps us going and allow us to be ready to deal with whatever life and the universe through at us as our journey in this world is always uncertain.

Website: https://tetianakalivoshko.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tetiana.kalivoshko/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tetiana-kalivoshko-35530a114/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tetianakalivoshkoart/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_wYlcaCNm3xmcdL8brxqKA

Other: https://www.artsy.net/artist/tetiana-kalivoshko